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UNCW HONORS SCHOLARS PROGRAM
Annual Report
July 1, 2005-June 30, 2006
The Honors Scholars Program completed its 12th full year as a four year program in June 2006.
The program goal is to attract and retain academically talented students to UNCW by offering an array
of innovative and challenging activities both in and out of the classroom. We work to create and expand
a peer culture of excellence on our campus. The program appears in the UNCW Catalogue as an
"Academic Enrichment Program."
I.
Students
Overall Enrollment
Last year there were 348 students in good standing in the Honors Scholars Program, plus an
additional 57 working on Departmental Honors only, for a total of 405 students in some phase of honors.
Freshman Enrollment and Demographics
The Honors Scholars Program enrolled a total of 112 freshmen this year: 109 in Fall 2005
and another 3 freshmen in Spring 2006. Of these, 68 (61%) were female and 41 (39%) male; 80
(71%) were from North Carolina, 4 (3.5%) were from New Hanover County, and 10 (8.9%) were not
Caucasian. In addition, nine (9) more students began honors as sophomores (or transferred to honors
at UNCW).
For the 2004-2005 honors freshman cohort, the average SAT score was 1292, similar to that
of the 2004-5 class. For comparison, the overall UNCW 2005-2006 freshman SAT average was
1134. Honors freshmen had an incoming high school GPA of 3.85, compared to an average of 3.63
for the entire incoming Fall 2005 freshman class.
Two of the freshmen are also varsity athletes (swimming, cross country) and four are
teaching fellows. At the end of the spring 2006 semester, the average UNCW GPA for the first year
honors students was 3.400 while the average GPA for all other UNCW freshmen was 2.797. In Fall
2005, honors freshmen averaged 3.324 (all other freshmen average GPA was 2.737).
Completion of Honors Seminars/Basic Studies
A total of 54 juniors and seniors were recognized at the Chancellor’s Achievement Award
ceremonies during 2005-6 for completing their honors seminars and basic studies requirements during
the previous semester (33 were recognized in August 2005, and 21 in February 2006). These students
have declared majors and will be preparing to pursue departmental honors in their major departments.
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Departmental Honors
There has been another ten percent increase this year in the number of students enrolled in some
phase of departmental honors projects. In 2005-2006, 119 students were enrolled in honors projects,
compared to 108 students in 2004-2005 and 99 in 2003-2004. Ninety (90) different faculty members from 26
different academic departments supervised senior honors projects this year (compared to 84 faculty in 22
departments last year). The College of Arts and Sciences and all three professional schools were represented.
Graduates
A total of 77 UNCW graduates were recognized for completing honors requirements during the
academic year. The percentage of seniors graduating with honors is approaching 5% of the senior class
(up from 2-3% in past years). In December 2005, four (4) students graduated with honors in their
departments and five (5) graduated with University Honors with honors in their departments. In May
2006, thirty-four (34) students graduated with honors in their departments and thirty-four (34) graduated
with University Honors with honors in their departments.
Student Awards and Achievements
Please see the Appendix for a representative list of student awards and special achievements.
Honors Residence
The Honors House houses 96 students and is a considerable plus for the program. It contains a
24/7 computer lab, study rooms, a classroom, kitchenette, media lounge, and other facilities for their use.
We continued the position of Honors Mentor with support from Academic Affairs. This year
the position was shared by sophomores Evan Watson, history major, and M. Blaine Henderson, film
studies major, who lived in the residence with the freshman, provided programs, and assisted the
students with the adjustment to university life. Both the Honors House Mentors and our Honors Buddy
Coordinator (Sarah Underwood, EVS major) sponsored a social or service program in the Honors House
each month- e.g., poker night, pumpkin carving, parties for sports events, etc. They met with their
buddies, sponsored social events, and led students around campus before classes.
Advising/Registration
The director, associate director, and Drs. Kim Sawrey and Diane Dodd were the academic
advisors for all first and second year students who have not declared majors. Honors advisors worked
with students at all summer orientations as well as throughout the year. Honors advisors advised 186
university college advisees in the Fall and 110 in the Spring. Honors students remain with their honors
advisors for the first two years, until they declare a major. We have worked closely with the University
College Advising Center as official advisors to ensure that the honors students receive the benefit of
University College advising services. The directors also worked closely with the office of the registrar
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to enable the students to have priority registration for Fall and Spring. Honors students are pre-coded to
enable them to use SEAWEB for pre-registration.
Student Initiatives
The Honors Students continued the Honors Buddy Program this year, similar to the Seahawk
Links. In addition, the Student Honors Advisory Council was active again this year, helping with review
of honors program applications and serving as a forum for discussion of possible changes in the HON
110 Freshman Honors Seminar.
II.
Academic Program
Faculty/Courses
In 2005-2006, the honors program offered a total of 56 honors sections, with 55 different
instructors from 23 different academic departments or areas participating in honors instruction. In
addition, one instructor is a veterinarian from the Wilmington community. Faculty from the College,
Watson School and Cameron School all participated. Instructors also came from the Center for
Leadership Education and Service, International Programs, and Randall Library. All honors courses and
instructors are listed in the appendix.
Freshman Interdisciplinary Honors Seminar (HON 110)--3 credits
HON 110 is a cross-disciplinary introduction to the intellectual and cultural life of the
university. It focuses on various approaches to knowledge and education, and provides students with
opportunities for hands-on research and experiential learning. Six sections of HON 110 were taught in
Fall 2005. For the fifth year, we followed a format such that HON 110 includes several large group
meetings, featuring a guest lecture by the Chancellor, a discussion of Honors and honors advising, and
the “International Connection/Study Abroad” with Dr. Herb Berg, last year’s Swansea semester abroad
honors director, and Dr. Adrian Sherman, Asst. Provost for International Programs. All sections
participated in workshops such as Diversity at UNCW, Alcohol Awareness/Safe Relationships, Career
Services, Library Services, Leadership/Volunteer Opportunities, and Stress/Time Management. This
year the Albert Schweitzer Honors Scholar Award was presented to Ms. Susan Dankel, former Director
of WHQR. She was recognized for her years of work in the local government and public radio. Ms.
Dankel delivered a lecture to the Honors Freshman Seminar students and spoke informally with students
at a reception open to the campus and local community.
Honors Topical Interdisciplinary Seminars (HON 210)--3 credits
HON 210 offers an in-depth investigation of a specific topic from an interdisciplinary
perspective. This provides a niche for a team of instructors from two or more disciplines to approach a
topic in a creative and flexible way, or for a single instructor to approach a topic from more than one
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perspective. Thus, faculty are able to "try out" innovative teaching techniques in honors sections- one of
the goals of the honors program. The content of the specific courses varies each semester. In Fall 2005,
4 sections were taught. Two sections of HON 210 were offered in the Spring 2006 semester to facilitate
student scheduling, with one section including a spring break trip to Germany taught by Drs. Oliver
Speck and Barry Salwen. Seven different departments on campus participated this year.
Honors Enrichment Seminar (HON 120)--one credit
This one-credit course has several functions for the students and program. First, the course
encourages students to become directly involved in campus and community activities by attending a
variety of events to broaden their educational experience. Secondly, it provides them with hands-on
experience in a variety of areas. Finally, it provides a mechanism for honors students to maintain their
"community" through group projects and participation.
Eleven (11) sections of Honors enrichment seminars were taught in Spring 2006 by 15
instructors representing 10 different disciplines, including CLES and International Programs. One HON
120 was a civic engagement class in disasters and issues of public policy, involving a spring break
service trip to New Orleans, taught by both Drs. Steve Meinhold and Donna Crowe. In addition, we
continued our Honors International Plunges, which included a class on the geology and ecology of
Caribbean reefs taught by Dr. Alina Szmant, culminating in a spring break trip to Roatan, off the coast of
Honduras, and scuba diving among the coral reefs. Further, Dr. Adrian Sherman offered “Multicultural
London” that also included international travel over spring break.
To facilitate scheduling for the students, we also offered two sections of HON 120 in the Fall
2005 semester. We continued the successful “Survey of Biological Research Methods” that introduces
honors students majoring in biology to the different types of research laboratories in biology and helps
guide them in developing senior honors project ideas. A new seminar on “The Trickster,” dealt with
such figures as they appear in shamanism, Native American and African creation stories and modern art
and literature, and culminated in visits to the International Spy Museum, Museum of the American
Indian, and Museum of African Art during the Honors Lyceum to Washington, D.C. as its capstone field
trip.
Honors sections of Basic Studies
Sixteen (16) sections of honors basic studies were taught in Fall 2005. Thirteen (13) sections of
honors basic studies were taught in Spring 2006. In addition, there was one honors section of an upper
level course (PSY 265) over the year. New offerings in Honors Basic Studies this year were: Women
in Modern America (HST 237), Introduction to Ethics (PAR 115), and Ancient to Medieval Art Survey
(ARH 201), and we offered an honors section of SPN 201 for the second time.
Honors Course Booklets
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Each semester, the honors program produces a booklet listing the honors courses for the
semester. This spring, for the first time, the printed booklet of fall course offerings was replaced by a
listing which was posted exclusively to the honors website. A printed version will continue to be
included in the orientation packet sent to incoming freshman honors students. Please see examples
enclosed.
Honors Course evaluations
Honors basic studies courses are evaluated with SPOT and an additional subjective honors
evaluation form. The HON seminars use an open-ended honors course evaluation form (see forms
enclosed).
Departmental Senior Honors Projects
The Honors Scholars Program continued its responsibility for oversight of the departmental
honors senior projects. This involves publicizing the departmental honors option, informing students
and faculty of the requirements, handling special cases and appeals, working with the Registrar to
determine eligibility and register the students, assigning a member of the Honors Council to serve as
honors representative for each project, monitoring the progress of the project through two or three
semesters, giving final approval for the project format, and assisting students in meeting the
requirements for graduation with honors. We also include a formal exit interview. We offered two
student workshops on preparing for departmental honors open to all students on campus. The
departmental honors booklet is attached.
As noted above, departmental honors project registrations increased by 10% this year. A list of
students in departmental honors projects is in the appendix.
Curriculum Development and Innovation
Complementing the honors semester abroad, we continue to expand our commitment to take
honors education beyond the classroom by encouraging brief study-abroad opportunities as a component
of some HON 120 enrichment seminars. In Spring 2006, “Geology and Ecology of Caribbean Reefs”
provided students with an opportunity over spring break to scuba dive among the coral reefs at Roatan,
off the coast of Honduras, with Dr. Alina Szmant. “Multicultural London” was offered for the first time
by Dr. Adrian Sherman and he hopes to offer it annually and involve other faculty as well. Plans are to
continue to encourage this type of short term study abroad as part of honors enrichment seminars. In
addition, for the first time, Drs. Oliver Speck and Barry Salwen taught an HON 210: “The Soundtrack of
History: German Music and Literature” with a spring break trip to Berlin and other locations in
Germany. This is a 3-hour seminar, and offers another way to offer short term international experiences.
Further, we also offered an honors enrichment seminar on Disasters and Public Policy in Spring
2006. Dr. Steve Meinhold and Dr. Donna Chapa Crowe co-taught the class, which included a spring
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break visit to New Orleans to meet disaster relief officials and participate in a service project there. This
is the third honors enrichment seminar that includes service learning as a focus, and we plan to continue
to encourage faculty to develop service learning classes like this.
HON 110: Honors Freshman Seminar was revamped in Fall 2001 and we continued with this model
for Fall 2005. The University Experience and the Life of the Mind is the informal title that has been used for
this class the last several years, and contains several unique features that are being recommended for other
freshman seminar experiences. For example, as stated in last year’s report, both the “EDGE” freshman
seminar for Fall 2005 and the Life of the Mind required freshman seminar, proposed by the Basic Studies
Task Force, incorporate several features piloted in the HON 110 class. One of the purposes of honors
education is to serve as a laboratory for innovative curricular instruction that can then be incorporated in other
areas on campus. Our HON 110 model is a good example: lectures by award-winning faculty to a large
group session followed by breakout discussion; required service and cultural activities; civic engagement
opportunities and discussion; reading and discussion on the “nature of knowledge”.
This year we added individual “themes” to each section and allowed incoming freshmen to select
which section they would enroll in based on its theme. Each theme was specific to the discipline and expertise
of the instructor: “Science in the Modern World” (biology and genetics); “Prescription for Modern Social
Ills” (clinical psychology, mental health/corrections); “Nature/Nurture Issues” (issues in psychology, animal
behavior); “Visual and Performing Arts: Creating and Experiencing” (art history, history);
“Internationalization/Globalization: Think Globally/Act Locally” (international programs).
Also new was the use of the New York Times in a pilot program to encourage students to read the
newspaper. This project, which is part of the America Democracy Project, was funded by Academic Affairs
for Honors and the Cornerstone Learning Communities. In honors, students were directed toward general
reading, but were also instructed to look for articles pertinent to the theme of there seminar section. They
were required to write weekly in their journals about an article of interest, and to be prepared for regular
classroom sharing and discussion news articles relevant to the class theme.
The six HON 110 sections met together for several classes, including a discussion with the
chancellor, a session on Honors and honors advising (concurrent with pre-registration for spring coursed), and
a presentation on study abroad. This year we continued the Albert Schweitzer Honors Scholar Awards. This
Award was developed through a partnership with Randall Library. Remaining funds from the Albert
Schweitzer Awards were entrusted to Honors and Randall Library as co-sponsors of the event. Interest from
the trust is used to honor an individual in the Greater Wilmington community or the state of North Carolina
who best represents the concept of service in the Humanities, Science, or the Arts. An honorarium is
provided and the recipient gives a public address to the freshman honors class, the university community, and
the public. This year’s honoree was Susan Dankel, former Director of WHQR.
The Honors Faculty Advisory Council and the directors worked to develop new courses, recruit
faculty, and plan a cohesive program of honors offerings.
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In 2005-2006, we continued our use of "honors contract courses" in which students receive
honors credit for courses in the regular curriculum that have been adapted for honors-level work. Forms
for establishing honors contract courses appear in the Honors Program Faculty Handbook. Seven honors
contract courses were taught this year.
Faculty Development
The Honors Program continued its work in developing an honors culture among teaching
faculty. To this end, we have worked to support faculty in their initial and continuing experiences in
honors. We distributed information on honors teaching by holding a workshop before the Fall 2005 and
Spring 2006 semesters to assist faculty in their preparation for their honors classes. These were cosponsored by the Center for Teaching Excellence. In addition to the workshops, we held informal midsemester meetings of honors freshman seminar instructors in the fall semester to discuss issues and
concerns.
In addition, we added a workshop on using the American Democracy Project to the Honors
Faculty Workshop in Spring 2005 in preparation for Fall 2006. Twelve honors faculty attended this
training and will participate in this project in partnership with the Learning Communities. The
workshop was co-sponsored by University College, Honors and the New York Times. Both Dr. Myers
and Dr. Bruce presented initial results of the use of the New York Times in the class, as well as results of
a news information survey of honors freshmen.
We also encouraged faculty to participate in honors conferences. Dr. Dan Johnson presented a
well-received workshop on his student learning outcomes and creativity models used in his honors
enrichment seminar “Music, Mallets, and More” at the Southern Regional Honors Conference in April
2006. He has also had a presentation accepted for the national honors conference in November 2006.
Honors Semester Abroad and Honors International Plunges
For the 8th time, the UNCW honors program offered an honors semester abroad as we joined
with the Office of International Programs in their offering of a spring semester at the University of
Wales in Swansea. The honors semester is advertised across honors programs in the United States and
six honors (5 from other schools) and six non-honors students participated in the honors semester. Dr.
Betsy Ervin, English, was the resident director and taught a 2-credit HON 120 course as well as an
additional course for Swansea.
As presented above, short study abroad experiences have been very effectively incorporated into
some of the honors seminars. Five students participated in the study abroad HON 120 seminar to Roatan,
Honduras; six students participated in the study abroad HON 210 to Berlin; and five participated in the
London HON 120.
In addition, an additional 18 honors scholars were enrolled in study abroad classes via
International Programs in 12 different study abroad programs (see appendix). Including our spring
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break honors international plunges, a total of 34 honors students registered for some type of study
abroad experience this year.
Directors' and Students' Professional Travel Related to Honors
The director, associate director and five students (Rachel Hamm, Carol Dwan, Becky Hamner,
Bart Wilson and Nate Humphrey) participated in the meeting of the National Collegiate Honors Council
in St. Louis in October 2005. The students delivered very well-received presentations, including an oral
presentation and a poster (see appendix). Both Drs. Myers and Bruce also led presentations and
workshops (see appendix). Dr. Bruce serves as President-Elect of the NCHC this year.
The director, associate director, Dr. Dan Johnson, plus nine students (Gerri Houston, Nicole
Zane, Becky Dassau, Ashley Cedzo, Tom Tascone, Brian DesRoches, Leah Hatem, Mallory Gleason,
and Nate Humphrey) attended the annual meeting of the Southern Regional Honors Conference in Baton
Rouge in March/April and delivered three presentations (see appendix). Mr. Nate Humphrey and
Director Kate Bruce served on the Executive Board of the SRHC for 2005-6 and Ms. Ashley Cedzo was
elected to a 2-year term on the SRHC Executive Board to serve as Student Vice President.
With the Provost, the director also accompanied nine undergraduates to the Colonial Academic
Alliance Undergraduate Research Conference in April at James Madison University.
III. Scholarships, Financial Support and Undergraduate Research Awards
In 2005-2006, 210 honors students received honors merit scholarship awards, for a total of
$341,346 (excluding scholarships which are not administered by Honors but are often awarded to
Honors Program students).
It is important to note that this is an average award of $1627 to each of the
210 students, but this only reflects 51.6% of the students in honors. Thus, functionally, this dollar figure
amounts to $772 per honors student. [In comparison, last year, $319,168 was awarded to 209 honors
students (53%) of the students involved in the Honors Program. The average award was $1527 per
scholarship student or $814 per honors program student.] Clearly scholarship support remains a
concern; given the increase in honors participation, scholarship support per student actually decreased in
2005-6 compared to the year before.
Named scholarships accounted for $144,607 of the scholarship awards in 2005-2006 and
$197,029 was from a trust fund identified for honors merit scholarships through UNCW (bookstore and
vending revenues). Per Business Affairs, we are delighted to learn that the awards available for honors
scholarships from the UNCW trust account will continue to be about $200,000 for the 2006-7 year to
help recruit and retain students with strong GPAs. This is especially helpful since tuition costs are
increasing.
Awards ranged in amount from $500 to the dollar equivalent of in-state tuition and fees.
Scholarships were awarded for one year, and were renewable, based on continued good standing in
Honors and the University. The funds for these scholarships originated from donations and
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endowments, and were awarded to the students by the Honors Scholars Program on the basis of merit.
For some of the scholarships, we were required to select students who meet the specific guidelines of the
donors, such as North Carolina residency or additional financial need. We were also allotted two
bookstore scholarships of $125 each. Honors recommended nominees for the Leutze, Upperman, Board
of Visitors, JK Horne, and Bagley Scholarships, which are selected by other programs on campus.
Using flex funding, Academic Affairs further supported the honors students by allotting the
program funds to hire 31 students as part-time work assistants. These awards were made on a merit
basis, especially to out-of-state students or in lieu of merit scholarships. In addition to Honors, these
students were placed in areas such as Academic Affairs, College of Arts and Sciences’ Dean’s Office,
CAS Associate Dean’s Office, Westside Hall reception area, Arts in Action office, Center for Teaching
Excellence, Learning Center, Dean of Students-Transition Programs, The SeaHawk Perch, University
College, Office of Campus Diversity, Art and Theatre Data Base, and the Math Lab.
The Center for the Support of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships (CSURF) is
administered through the Honors Scholars Program, and the CSURF Faculty Advisory Board acts as
the advisory body. The CSURF reading room is housed in the Honors Program; in the same area, we
have a computer work-station dedicated to undergraduate research, with software for data processing
as well as poster preparation. Honors purchased and maintains a plotter so that students can print out
posters for conferences.
The Honors Scholars program was again this year given the responsibility of handling
funding for the CSURF student research travel awards. The Chancellor allotted $30,000 for student
travel to professional conferences, if accompanied by a faculty member. Sixty eight (68) students in
14 different academic programs applied for funding. Students in the College of Arts and Sciences,
Education, and Nursing received awards (see attachment with summary of all awards and listing of
this year’s recipients).
In addition, Honors supported student travel expenses for 9 more students to present research
at the Colonial Academic Alliance Undergraduate Research Conference held at James Madison
University in April, and for 6 students to present research at the State of North Carolina
Undergraduate Research Symposium in Raleigh in November. We also used these funds for 15
students to make presentations at honors national and regional conferences.
To showcase undergraduate research and scholarship on campus, CSURF, Honors and the
Office of Research organized a month-long Showcase of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship in
April and we plan to continue this on an annual basis. This year, in Randall Library, we had a
reception and poster session involving over 40 students and their mentors, plus a concert choir
performance. We also plan to host the Colonial Academic Alliance Undergraduate Research
Symposium next year. Through collaboration with the UNCW research office, we submitted two
undergraduate student proposals for summer research initiatives to the UNC-GA Office of Research
(which were awarded), as well was an application for a graduate student mentor for undergraduate
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researchers (just submitted in June 2006 to UNC-GA Office of Research). We expanded the CSURF
webpage by hiring an undergraduate student to help with the celebration month, and presented
information about undergraduate research at freshman orientation. CSURF students were featured at
the April Board of Trustees meeting, and an undergraduate research presentation was delivered at
every freshman orientation in June 2006.
We have requested that the support for the Chancellor’s Teal and Gold Undergraduate
Research and Travel awards be permanent; those are very successful and enable students to share in
the presentation of research at professional meetings. To facilitate student poster presentations,
Honors uses the plotter we bought last year to print posters for students who have CSURF awards;
approximately 75 posters were printed. We need permanent funds to support this feature of the
CSURF program, as well as others. By supporting additional research-related travel, preparing
posters for conferences and poster sessions on campus, purchasing easels for poster displays, printing
and designing brochures for CSURF and related events, providing refreshments for the CSURF
Undergraduate Showcase of Student Research reception in Randall Library, and allocating work
assistant hours to hire a senior to help with the CSURF April events and the CSURF web page,
Honors spent over $1600 related to CSURF this year.
In addition to promotion on campus, by active participation again this year in the Colonial
Academic Alliance and the UNC Undergraduate Research Consortium, UNCW student research
continues to be showcased in the state and region. Honors/CSURF will continue to serve as the
liaison for these programs.
IV. Co-curricular Events
In keeping with its mission and strategic goal of developing an honors community and involving
students in academic life both in and out of the classroom, the honors program has sponsored or
participated in many co-curricular events. The following are highlights from 2005-2006:
• In August, Honors Program staff and the Honors Big Buddies participated in Move-In!
• The Honors Program, Honors Scholars Association and Honors Buddies hosted an ice-cream
social for the new honors freshmen in the Honors House.
• The Honors Program and Honors Scholars Association held a beach sweep at Kure Beach
followed by a cookout for new freshmen in August.
• We recognized students who completed the first two years of the honors program in good
standing during the Chancellor’s Achievement Awards Ceremonies in the Fall and Spring semesters.
• In support of the HON seminars and basic studies sections both semesters, the honors program
provided support for several on- and off-campus events including Cinematique, Fort Fisher Aquarium,
USS North Carolina Battleship, Bald Head Island Lighthouse Tour, Ghost Tour of Old Wilmington,
Animal Control and Carolina Canines. For the HON 120 Animals and Society, we covered half the
costs of a bus to the North Carolina Zoo (that included a Biology senior seminar group as well). We also
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supported the airfare for faculty teaching seminars with alternative spring breaks so that the students’
costs could be less. Several guest speakers were part of the honors basic studies offerings, including a
session with actor Pat Hingle in the introduction to theatre class.
• Honors continued its voucher/reimbursement system with the WHQR/Thalian Hall
Cinematique series to allow honors students free admission to these notable films. We have also offered
admission for honors students to the Wilmington Concert Association, North Carolina Symphony,
Wilmington Symphony, Arts in Action, Fort Fisher Aquarium, and Cameron Art Museum.
• With the Women’s Resource Center, Honors hosted the Phi Theta Kappa/National Collegiate
Honors Council Satellite Seminar Series, and offered five videoconferences on Tuesday evenings in
September through October 2006. Approximately 75 students attended the series, and topics included
societal influences on film, religion, and dress- with a general focus on popular culture.
• Drs. Bruce and Myers escorted 43 students (a record number!) on a four-day Lyceum
experience to Washington D.C. in October 2005, with Dr. Lee Johnston and Dr. Patricia Turrisi. Dr.
Turrisi taught an Honors Enrichment seminar on The Trickster, which culminated in field trips to the
Spy Museum and the new Museum of the American Indian. Dr. Johnston’s PLS 101: American
National Government class participated in various activities on Capitol Hill. Drs. Myers and Bruce led
students on themed field trips to art galleries or animal behavior-related locations (zoo, aquarium).
• The Scholarship Donor Appreciation Tea for honors students and scholarship donors was held
in the Honors Program Office on October 12.
• A reception in the Honors House for students to meet professors teaching honors courses in the
subsequent semester was held in October.
• The honors directors, five students, and an honors faculty member participated in the National
Collegiate Honors Council Conference in St. Louis in October 2005. Dr. Bruce serves as President-Elect
of the NCHC.
• The Albert Schweitzer Honors Scholar Award was presented in November during the
Freshman Honors Seminar to Ms. Susan Dankel for her extensive community outreach through
leadership of WHQR Public Radio. The UNCW and Wilmington community was invited to the address
and to the reception that followed.
• Honors supported student participation in the first State of North Carolina Undergraduate
Research Symposium at NCSU in November. Seventeen students and Dr. Ann Stapleton (BIO)
participated.
• Led by honors student and British Council’s Student Ambassador Ian Sheffer, Honors hosted
an information session on study abroad opportunities in the United Kingdom in November.
• With support from Academic Affairs and the Chancellor's Office, the honors program
sponsored a holiday reception at the Madeline Suite in December. This year we recognized the 9 seniors
graduating in December with honors, as well as highlighting the freshman experience.
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• The Levy-Bruce Honors Merit Scholarship was announced at a reception honoring Drs. Levy
and Bruce, as well as Dr. Myers. The John W. Myers Art History Scholarship was also announced.
• Honors was a co-sponsor of the 23rd annual MLK celebration featuring Ms. Myrlie EversWilliams.
• Dr. Betsy Ervin led a group of 12 UNCW and other students to spend an honors semester at the
University of Wales-Swansea.
• Dr. Ann Stapleton attended one meeting of the UNC Undergraduate Research Consortium at
NCSU as our CSURF representative, and Dr. Bruce attended two URC videoconferences.
• Honors sponsored a reading group for students, faculty and staff in January and February to
discuss Michael Ruse’s book The Evolution-Creation Struggle, as well as other issues related to
evolution.
• The Honors Scholars Association students participated in Homecoming activities including
the banner and float contests.
• The Honors Speaker Series brought in Dr. Michael Ruse, noted author on evolution, in
February. He met with students in Philosophy of Evolution and the honors enrichment seminar on
Intelligent Design, taught by Dr. Patricia Kelley, as well as members of the reading group and evolution
learning community committee. He also went to dinner with several honors students and faculty. Dr.
Ruse spoke to a packed Warwick Ballroom, with close to 400 people in attendance- community,
faculty, students, staff. He held a book signing after the lecture and discussion. This year’s Honors
Speaker Series was co-sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences, Academic Affairs, Center for
Teaching Excellence, Center for Leadership Education and Service, the departments of earth sciences,
English, psychology, chemistry, philosophy and religion, and the science, humanities and society
minor, and the student organizations- Honors Scholars Association and Minority Student Leaders
Group.
• Honors co-sponsored a public lecture by NCSU professor Dr. Gary L. Comstock on Altering
Nature, organized by Philosophy and Religion and Biology, in February 2006.
• CSURF/Honors participated in the Fulbright information sessions to discuss national
scholarship opportunities.
• Honors was a co-sponsor of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt exhibit on campus in
February.
• Honors was a co-sponsor of the February reading group and “meet the author” session with Dr.
Timothy Tyson in the One Book, One Community group.
• Alternative Spring Break trips to Germany, Honduras, London, and New Orleans were
capstone experiences in HON seminars.
• During both semesters we continued a series of workshops called NOt FOr Juniors Only
(NOFOJO). Topics covered were: Preparing for Departmental Honors and Applying to Graduate School
(co-sponsored by the Graduate School).
Honors 13
• The directors, nine students, and one other faculty member participated in the 34th annual
meeting of the Southern Regional Honors Council in Orlando in April. Ms. Ashley Cedzo was elected
Student Vice President, and Dr. Bruce served as Immediate Past-President.
• Honors supported the Psychology colloquium by Dr. Wendee Wechsberg of Research Triangle
Institute.
• As part of the Colonial Academic Alliance, the UNCW Honors Program participated in the
fourth annual undergraduate research conference (CSTARS) with the other Colonial Athletic
Association universities in April. The Provost, Dr. Bruce, Dr. Varadarajan, Dr. Turrisi, and nine
students traveled to James Madison University to represent UNCW and highlight undergraduate
research.
• Honors and CSURF co-sponsored the local Sigma Xi Spring Meeting with Undergraduate
Student Research Poster Session in April 2006.
• Honors was a co-sponsor for the annual Phi Kappa Phi induction and reception, in April 2006.
• Honors and CSURF sponsored the first Showcase of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship
in April. The month long recognition of undergraduate research began with a reception in Randall
Library in which 42 student posters were on display. In addition, the UNCW Chamber Singers
performed. The posters remained on display for 2 weeks.
• CSURF was featured at the spring Board of Trustees meeting, and ten students presented
posters in a “poster session” with the Board members.
• The annual "Honors Awards Brunch" was held the day prior to May graduation to recognize
the 68 students graduating with honors in Spring 2006 and their faculty sponsors. In keeping with the
tradition, each faculty sponsor awarded the honors medallion to his or her own student.
Student Activities
Honors students are active members of the university community, and we are especially proud
of the students who were recognized by their departments or Student Affairs (Cornerstone Awards) for
leadership and scholarship, or by the larger community. For example, Becky Hamner was the only
student from UNCW awarded a Fulbright Award this year and will be going to New Zealand to study.
Sara Crohn was chosen to deliver a presentation to the Council on Undergraduate Research’s Posters on
the Hill.
In 2005-3006, eleven honors students played varsity athletics, nine were Teaching Fellows,
several participated in team sports such as club soccer, crew and sailing, and others served in residence
hall government and as residence hall desk receptionists or RA's. Several Honors students are involved
in Student Government and club leadership. Three honors students are freshman orientation leaders this
summer 2006, and approximately ten are resident advisors.
Service to the university and larger community is a goal of honors education, and our students
were active participants. For example, students volunteered to tutor in elementary schools or assist with
Honors 14
afterschool programs or at other community agencies. Several freshmen volunteered at the afterschool
program at College Park Elementary School through the Honors Scholars Association. Many
participated as tutors in the Learning Center. Nine honors students also were very involved as UNCW
Ambassadors.
The students continued their participation in the Honors Scholars Association, an official SGA
organization. This group coordinated a beach sweep day at Kure Beach and participated in the
children’s Halloween carnival at UNCW. Further, Mr. Nate Humphrey served a one-year as Student
Representative for the Southern Regional Honors Council, and Ms. Ashley Cedzo was elected to serve in
as student vice president for 2006-2008. The appendix includes a more extensive list of honors student
activities.
V. Recruitment and Public Outreach Efforts
Recruitment
In keeping with the goal of recruiting highly talented students to UNCW, we have been closely
involved with recruitment efforts. We utilized a 16 page color brochure and application kit for honors
and the number of applicants to honors has been increasing over the last two years. The application kit
is included in the appendix.
Further, the directors represented the Honors Scholars Program at visitation days in the fall and
spring, with the assistance of many continuing honors students who gave special tours of the Honors
House and staffed the honors information table. Also, our promotional brochure was sent to high school
guidance counselors in North Carolina and to interested students and parents. We regularly speak to
parents and students who stop by the office for a site visit and information about the program. We
purchased and mailed copies of the Peterson’s Guide to Honors Colleges and Programs and sent those
to area guidance counselors. We work with the Admissions Office to target high-ability high school
students during their fall recruitment and with SMEC to reach the Summer Ventures students at UNCW.
We also participated in the May 2006 program by Admissions for area high school counselors.
Diversity has always been an important value for the honors program, and we continue to be
involved with diversity initiatives. We continued discussion of diversity in the honors freshman seminar
this year, and placed honors students in the Office of Campus Diversity both semesters. Because our
office manager, Mr. Bo Dean, is on both the Diversity Advisory Council and the Human Relations
Advisory Council, Honors is able to stay abreast of new diversity initiatives. Further, we collaborated
with Mr. Maurice Moreno in the Admissions Office to examine and recruit qualified minorities for the
Honors program, and worked with Ms. Linda McRae to award diversity scholarships based on merit to
new freshman applicants.
Freshman Orientation, June 2006
Honors 15
The honors program mounted special sessions at summer orientation for new students. An honors
student handbook was distributed to all new freshmen (a copy is included with this report). In addition,
afternoon sessions for parents of honors students were held at orientation.
For three years, we have had a program for mentoring freshman honors students more formally,
the Honors Buddy Program. For Fall 2006, we have hired 10 students as Honors Buddy Links and they
are working with both Honors and the Seahawk Links Programs. They will be linked with freshman
seminar in the fall, and will meet incoming freshmen on orientation day and move-in day.
Public Relations and Publicity
The honors program staff and students publicize our program in several ways:
• The Honors Scholars Program has its own pages within UNCW's site on the World Wide Web:
http://www.uncw.edu/honors/.
• We maintained a home page for the North Carolina Honors Association that originates from
our home page. The director is treasurer of the association. The director also is President-Elect of the
National Collegiate Honors Council and served as Immediate Past-President of the Southern Regional
Honors Council.
• The UNCW Honors Scholars Program is represented in the revised Peterson's Guide to Honors
Program in American Colleges and Universities. Further, the director wrote an introductory piece for the
latest (Fall 2005) Peterson’s edition, and alum Michael Simone (honors in biology, 2003) was featured!
• With Advancement, honors hosted a scholarship tea for honors students and donors in October. •
The Honors Speaker Series was open to the public and widely publicized in the local media.
• Honors was featured at the Chancellor's Achievement Award Ceremonies in Fall 2005 and
Spring 2006.
• Honors co-sponsored the Sigma Xi Student Research Poster Session, and several departmental
lectures.
• Honors facilitated UNCW’s involvement in the State of North Carolina Undergraduate
Research Symposium (SNCURS), the Colonial Academic Alliance/CSTARS Undergraduate Research
Conference, and the Research in the Capitol in Washington DC.
• Honors acts as liaison for UNCW’s participation in the UNC- system Undergraduate Research
Consortium.
• We used a 16 page, multi-color honors brochure and application kit as a recruiting tool, and it
highlights many diverse aspects of the Honors Scholars Program and UNCW in general.
National Scholarships/Fellowships
Through oversight of the Center for the Support of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships
(CSURF), the Honors Program has continued its responsibility as the administrative office for national
Honors 16
scholarship competitions, and the associate director participated in a workshop on advising for national
scholarships at the National Collegiate Honors Conference in November 2005.
In 2005-6, Honors distributed information and applications for the following scholarships or
fellowships: Goldwater Scholarship, Truman Scholarship, Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship, Udall
Scholarship, Rhodes Scholarship, Mellon Scholarship, USA Today All-Academic Team, British
Marshall.
Honors student Rebecca Hamner was awarded a Fulbright Award for research in New Zealand
next year.
Two students were nominated by UNCW for the Jack Kent Cooke Graduate Scholarship: Ms.
Kimberly Hinson (BA 05) and Mr. Christopher Moreland (BA 06). These awards are still pending.
In addition, Joel Davenport (Film Studies) was just recommended as the 2006 UNCW nominee
for the National Collegiate Honors Council’s Portz Scholar Award.
The website for the Center for the Support of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships (CSURF; www.uncw.edu/csurf ) and the brochure for CSURF facilitate communication about research
and scholarship opportunities for students at UNCW. We continued to distribute information about the
competitive national scholarship at the Fulbright Awards workshops.
Honors 17
VI.
Program Administration
Office Structure and Division of Labor
The Honors Scholars Program reports to the office of the Provost, through the Associate Vice
Chancellor for Academic Affairs for Academic Programs and Policies. The Honors Program has a fulltime director, Kate Bruce, who teaches in Psychology and in Honors, and a full-time associate director,
John Myers, who teaches in Art and Art History and in Honors. We also have a full-time office assistant
IV, grade 59, Lenwood S. “Bo” Dean.
Office division of labor: while the duties of the director and associate director are generally
divided, their responsibilities are fluid, allowing for maximum coverage and flexibility in the office. In
general, the director is responsible for recruitment and processing of students through the program;
working with admissions; oversight of departmental honors; handling scholarships and working with the
offices of advancement and financial aid; coordinating housing preferences with the residence life office;
recruiting and supervising the Honors House mentors; working with the orientation staff to offer honors
summer orientations for students and parents; yearly preparation of an honors students handbook; public
outreach and contact; convening the Faculty Honors Council; faculty development in honors teaching;
working with the schools and academic departments to coordinate their honors offerings; representing
honors to the campus at large; organizing co-curricular events; managing budgets; and handling the
administrative duties of the office. In addition, the director oversees the Center for the Support of
Undergraduate Research and Fellowships (CSURF).
The associate director is most closely involved with curriculum development; recruiting faculty
for honors teaching; developing the honors schedule of courses for each semester; planning co-curricular
events; assisting students and faculty through the departmental honors process; and organizing priority
registration.
Both the director and associate director are directly involved in honors teaching and are
University College advisors for freshmen and sophomore honors students.
Space
The Honors Scholars Program offices are located on the second floor of Randall Library. This
suite includes a reception area, offices for the director, associate director, and office assistant, a seminar
room, research station for CSURF, a small library and conference room, a work/file room and a kitchen.
The seminar room is a smart classroom (internet and multimedia station), and is used for honors seminars,
some honors basic studies classes, and meetings of the Faculty Honors Council and the Honors Scholars
Association. Two PC multimedia computer stations are available for students and faculty. The plotter in
the CSURF research station was used this year to print 75 posters for students receiving CSURF awards
and for those presenting at various honors conferences.
The Faculty Honors Council
Honors 18
The Council is comprised of nine members from the College and the Schools. This is the
advisory board for the Honors Program. This body also recommends courses and instructors, assists
with student mentoring and advising, and serves as honors representatives on departmental honors
projects. In addition, members serve on the campus-wide committee for national fellowship and
scholarship applications and review the honors applications for acceptance and scholarship awards.
Members serve a three-year rotating term; current members of the Honors Council are listed in the
Appendix.
This year the Council was active in the following initiatives: catalog changes related to
withdrawal from honors; composition of the honors project committee; review of the honors project oral
defense feedback form; discussion of recognition of honors faculty; review of national award nominees;
review of freshman applications and scholarship applications.
The Student Honors Advisory Council (SHAC)
SHAC is composed of students in the honors program who are interested in leadership roles
relating to program advising in areas such as freshman application review; composition and content of
honors freshman seminar; choice of honors spring speaker; mentoring of freshmen in honors. This
group met approximately 10 times over the two semesters with the director and associate director.
Honors 19
VII. Future Plans and Initiatives for 2006-2007
Internal evaluation efforts this year continued to center around determining the overall costs of
the honors program at UNCW (curriculum, scholarships, base budget, student support). Particularly
important was the further development and use of the “hold departments harmless” proposal so that
departments will be compensated for offering small honors sections as part of faculty workloads. For
the third time, Honors awarded departments offering non-compensated small honors sections as part of
their overall curriculum one-time funds of $1500 per honors section. We anticipate that this procedure
will be repeated next year and we include requests for departmental compensation in all expansion
budget requests. Permanent additions to the programming budget were very helpful this past year, and
we hope that the overload and “hold harmless” annual funds will become permanent. We also hope that
the CSURF funds will become permanent for student travel awards, and that there will be a budget for
CSURF programming.
We began an internal review in preparation for a transition from Honors Program to Honors
College. We submitted a proposal to Academic Affairs and to the Deans Council, and received support
to plan a formal proposal. We are planning an external review or external consult for the Honors
Scholars Program next year.
We anticipate a freshman class of about 115-120 new honors students in Fall 2006, plus up to 10
additional students in the spring. For the past four years, we have had a waiting list for students. Thus,
we are again increasing the size of the entering freshman honors class by about 10%. There has been
increasing interest in the Honors Program for the past several years and it is a key recruiting tool for
UNCW. It is worth noting that applications to honors increased again this year.
We expect about 200 honors students at the freshman and sophomore levels and about 190
students at the junior/senior level, including those doing departmental honors. Rates of University
Honors completion remain strong, and the Fact Sheet in the Appendix shows that the percentage of
seniors graduating with honors is increasing. We will continue to analyze recruitment and retention
efforts for Honors.
Further promotion of the Center for the Support of Undergraduate Research and FellowshipsCSURF- remains a priority and we plan to continue to showcase undergraduate research and scholarship
in innovative ways. As proposed last year, we organized a month-long celebration of undergraduate
research, and plan to continue this on an annual basis. This year, in Randall Library we had a reception
and poster session involving over 40 students and their mentors, plus a concert choir performance. We
also took nine students to the Colonial Academic Alliance meeting in April, and plan to host the event
next year. Through collaboration with the research office, we submitted undergraduate student
proposals for summer research initiatives, as well was an application for a graduate student mentor for
undergraduate researchers. We expanded the CSURF webpage, and presented information about
undergraduate research at freshman orientation. CSURF students were featured at the April Board of
Trustees meeting. We have requested that the Chancellor continue support for the Chancellor’s Teal and
Honors 20
Gold Undergraduate Research and Travel awards- those are very successful and enable students to share
in the presentation of research at professional meetings. To facilitate student poster presentations,
Honors uses the plotter we bought last year to print posters for students who have CSURF awards;
approximately 75 posters were printed. We remain eager to continue and formalize efforts to coordinate
information about undergraduate research and scholarship opportunities and programs on campus. In
addition, by active participation again this year in the Colonial Academic Alliance and the UNC
Undergraduate Research Consortium, UNCW student research continues to be showcased in the state
and region. Honors will continue to serve as the liaison for these programs. Honors will also continue
to support local conferences and meetings, such as Sigma Xi. Further, we are continuing to work with
departments to help engage students who will be active participants in departmental research early on;
for example, the HON 120 on Biological Research is being continued for the sixth time. Thus, we also
hope to see even more of our four-year honors students complete their senior honors projects. We hope
to expand this type of experience to other majors. Further we hope to improve our application rate for
national scholarships, and meet with the students interested in Fulbright about other scholarships.
We are working with departments to encourage honors offerings. As expected, most of the
honors courses in were taught by faculty within the College of Arts and Sciences: however, again this
year, we had a professor in Education offer an honors enrichment seminar, and the Cameron School of
Business has a commitment to honors basic studies instruction (two semesters of Economics). In
addition, we had an instructor from Student Affairs teach an honors enrichment seminar.
Plans are underway for future co-curricular experiences. We are planning our annual honors
Lyceum trip to Washington DC for fall break. The experience will include an honors enrichment
seminar with Dr. Sam Murrell leading a class on “The Holocaust”. Service learning and international
study experiences are ongoing, and we hope to continue plunges over Spring Break 2007. We are
already recruiting for the honors semester abroad at the University of Wales at Swansea for Spring 2007,
and , Dr. Lee Schweninger will be leading that program.
Both the honors directors and students attend state, regional and national Honors Conferences.
Dr. Bruce is program chair of the annual meeting of the National Collegiate Honors Council, and is very
involved in that organization. Two honors students, the director, associate director, and two honors
faculty members have already submitted proposals for the national meeting in Philadelphia in
November. The director will be part of the “Developing in Honors” workshops. Further, the director is
President-Elect of the NCHC, Past President of the Southern Regional Honors Council, and treasurer of
the North Carolina Honors Association.
Associate Director John Myers continued to serve on the “Freshman Experience” task force last
year and we are examining ways to improve our first year honors experience. We are continuing
themes in the freshman seminars for Fall 2006.
In keeping with our strategic plan, are working more with University Advancement to improve
the scholarship base. In our ongoing efforts to enhance and sustain the program and to enrich the
Honors 21
endowment for student scholarships, the Honors Scholars Programs plans to work with Advancement to
strengthen alumni giving and parent participation. We plan to create and execute a newsletter for alumni
and friends of honors by the end of the next year. We also will continue to work with Advancement as
afar as stewardship of donors, including teas and scholarship recognition, invitations to current donors to
honors events with our students, and contact with donors at special times of the year.
The Honors Scholars Program is looking forward to maintaining its excellence in the curriculum
in coming years. We look forward to working with Center for Teaching Excellence to develop ways to
expand the faculty participation and creativity in course offerings. We plan to continue to offer at least
one CTE-Honors co-sponsored faculty workshop each semester and will continue to contact new faculty
about honors instruction. Further, increased support from the deans and chairs to routinely consider
HON seminars as part of a faculty member's workload would facilitate faculty participation in honors.
In addition, we hope to see the “Hold Departments Harmless” proposal we submitted in 2003 accepted
in AY 2006-2007.
The instructional needs are still expanding, and the need for faculty to support the students in
their senior honors projects is growing as well. Additional funding for scholarships, instruction, cocurricular and community-building activities remain crucial needs and will determine the long-term
success of the Honors Scholars Program.
Please note that an internal assessment of “Honors Goals” and an Honors Fact Sheet are
included in this document.
Honors 22
APPENDICES
1. Honors Directors’ Summaries
23
2. 2005-2006 Faculty Honors Council members
24
3. THE C-SURFBOARD
24
4. Fall 2005 Honors Classes
25
5. Spring 2006 Honors Classes
25
6. Publication and Presentations at Honors Conferences
27
7. Representative List of Honors Student Awards, etc.
28
8. Attachments
33
Honors 23
1. Honors Directors’ Summaries
Dr. Bruce served on the Academic Standards Committee, the CTE Advisory Board, Orientation
Advisory Board, the Evolution Learning Community Planning Committee, and the Science, Humanities and
Society Advisory Board. In the Psychology Department, she serves on the peer review committee. She
taught an unpaid overload of classes this year (HON 110 and two sections of PSY 265). Dr. Bruce served as
Immediate Past President of the Southern Regional Honors Council (SRHC) for the 2005-2006 year.
Following her election to VP last year, Dr. Bruce serves as President Elect of the National Collegiate Honors
Council and is organizing the program for November 2006. She will be President of the NCHC in 20062007. Dr. Bruce is also treasurer of the North Carolina Honors Association and maintains a web page for the
state Honors Programs. Dr. Bruce published an invited essay on traveling with honors students in the latest
edition of Peterson’s Guide to Honors Programs and Colleges. Dr. Bruce was an author on four
presentations at Honors conferences, as well as one academic area conference presentation. She was an active
participant in the UNC Undergraduate Research Consortium. As director of CSURF on campus, she
organized the first UNCW Showcase of Undergraduate Research, and coordinated a poster session on
undergraduate research for the Board of Trustees. She is on the editorial board of two peer-reviewed journals
(one in honors and one in psychology). She supervised four graduate students in psychology this academic
year, and one defended her thesis. Dr. Bruce was mentioned by several graduating seniors in December and
May as the faculty member who had the strongest impact on them.
Please also see Dr. Bruce’s annual full annual report (attachment).
As Associate director, Dr. Myers taught an HON 110 Freshman Seminar and a course in his
home department, coordinated the scheduling of honors courses in Fall and Spring, and served as a
member of the Honors Advisory Council. He accompanied students on the Fall Lyceum trip to
Washington, DC and arranged a number of special events for the students. He attended and mentored
honors student presentations at the National Collegiate Honors Council Conference in New Orleans and
at the Southern Regional Honors Conference in Baton Rouge. At the national conference, he made a
presentation on the UNCW semester abroad at the University of Wales, Swansea. He served on the
Chancellor appointed Committee on Information Technology Innovations, IT Strategic Plan Steering
Committee, and the Office of International Programs selection committee for the Swansea honors
program director. In the department of art and art history, Dr. Myers worked with the new database
curator to establish priorities and day-to-day operational guidelines for the departmental database. He
also served as mentor to two untenured faculty in art history and theatre. Dr. Myers was cited by May
and December graduates, who stated, “Thanks for the guidance, advice, support, and wisdom you have
offered me during my career at UNCW. You have made my university experience both fulfilling and
successful. Many thanks” and “Thanks for the generous support inside and outside of the classroom.”
Honors 24
2. 2005-2006 Faculty Honors Council members:
Jeanne Kemppainen, NUR
Michael Smith, ERS
Dan Johnson, MUS
Ann Stapleton, BIO
Cecil Willis, SOC
Simone Nguyen, PSY
Pam Evers, ACG
Kate Bruce, Honors, ex-officio
Kathy Fox, EDN
John Myers, Honors, ex-officio
Diana Ashe, ENG
Paul Hosier, ex-officio, Provost
Raymond Burt, ex-officio, Provost’s Office
Carrie Clements, ex-officio, Center for Teaching Excellence director
Kemille Moore, ex-officio, General College Advising director
Russ Herman, ex-officio, Chair of Academic Standards Faculty Senate Committee
Nikki Zane, ex-officio, President of the Honors Scholars Association
3. Center for the Support of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships advisory board:
THE C-SURFBOARD
Patty Turrisi, PAR
Paulo Almeida, CHM
Gregory Bechtel, NUR
Kate Bruce, PSY
Edward Caropreso, EDN
Carrie Clements, PSY
Ann Conner, ART
Bill Cooper, CHM
Steve Dworkin, PSY
Doug Gamble, GGY
Liping Gan, PHY
Glen Harris, HST
Patricia Kelley, GLY
Patricia Lerch, ANT
John Myers, ART
Steve Skrabal, CHM
Ann Stapleton, BIO
Alina Szmant, BIO
Steve Meinhold, PLS
4. Fall 2005 Honors Classes
Freshman Seminars:
HON 110-300
HON 110-301
HON 110-302
HON 110-303
HON 110-304
HON 110-305
D. Dodd, BIO
S. MacKain, PSY
K. Bruce, PSY
J. Myers, AAH
S. Cody, Randall Library
K. Sawrey, PSY
Honors Enrichment and Interdisciplinary Seminars:
HON 120-300
HON 120-301
HON 210-300
HON 210-301
HON 210-302
HON 210-303
"Survey of Biological Research”
“The Trickster”
“Wit and Wisdom of the South”
“Religion and Media”
“History of the Book”
“Albert Einstein’s Legacy
T. Shafer, BIO
P. Turrisi, PAR
N. Graham, ENG
S. Murrell, PAR
V. Olson, N. Irvine, AAH
R Herman, MAT/SST
Honors 25
Honors Basic Studies Sections
BIO 204
CHM 101
ECN 221
ENG 103
ENG 224
GLY 150
HST 103
MAT 161
MUS 115
PHY 201
PLS 101
PSY 105
PSY 220
SOC 105
SPN 201
THR 121
Principles of Biology: Cells with lab
General Chemistry with lab
Principles of Economics: Microeconomics
College Writing and Reading Advanced
American Literature after 1870
Introduction to Oceanography
Global History
Calculus with Analytical Geometry
Rudiments of Music
General Physics and lab
American National Govt.
General Psychology
Child Psychology
Introduction to Sociology
Intermediate Spanish
Introduction to Theatre
A. Stapleton
M. Messina
S. Robinson
K. Faxon
W. Atwill
R. Laws
Y. Chen
D. Rolls
R. Nathanson
T. Black
L. Johnston
W. Overman
S. Nguyen
A. Veit
V. Rider
T. Glynn
5. Spring 2005 Honors Classes
Honors Enrichment and Interdisciplinary Seminars:
HON 120-300
HON 120-301
HON 120-302
HON 120-303
HON 120-304
HON 120-305
HON 120-306
HON 120-307
HON 120-308
HON 120-309
HON 120-310
HON 120-312
HON 210-300
HON 210-301
“Intelligent Design: Alt. to evolution?”
“Animals in Society”
“American Pie”
“Personal Reflections”
“Parrothead Studies
“Music, Mallets, and More”
“Multi-cultural London
“Protest Music”
“Geo. And Eco. Caribbean Reefs
“Social Justice Issues in the
Elementary Classroom”
“Disasters and Iss. Of Public Policy
“Exploring the Coast/Art and Lit.”
“The Soundtrack of History”
“The Connoisseur: Defining
Art and Music”
P. Kelley, GLY
B. Weedon DVM, Community
S. Richardson, ENG/S. Richardson, FST
S. Harper MGT
D. Johnson, C. Ashton, HAHS
D. Johnson, MUS
A. Sherman, Assoc.Prov. IP
R. Olsen, COM
A. Szmant, BIO
K. Fox, EDN
D. Crowe, CLES, S Meinhold, PLS
W. Atwill
O. Speck, FFL, B Salwen, MUS
R. Nathanson, MUS, A.Kirschke, AAH
Honors Basic Studies Sections
ARH 201
BIO 206
CHM 102
CRJ 105
ECN 222
ENG 226
GLY 120
HST 237
MAT 162
PAR 115
PHY 202
Ancient to Medieval Art
J. Myers
Principles of Biology: Animal with Lab
J. Pawlik
General Chemistry with Lab
M. Messina
“Introduction to Criminal Justice”
M. Maume
Principles of Economics: Macroeconomics
S. Robinson
“World Literature”
J. Stokes
Environmental Geology
J. Huntsman
Women in Modern America
K. Berkeley
Calculus w/ Analytical Geometry
L. Xin
Introduction to Ethics
C. Gauthier
General Physics and lab
T. Black
Honors 26
PSY 105
General Psychology
W. Overman
Upperlevel Honors Section
PSY 265
Human Sexuality
K. Bruce
6. Presentations at Honors Conferences and Publication
Bruce, K., Hamm, R.*, Wilson, B.*, Dwan, C.*, & Myers, J. (October, 2005). Developing and Shaping a
Student Honors Advisory Council. Presentation at the National Collegiate Honors Council annual conference, St.
Louis.
Hamner, R.* (October, 2005). Nuclear DNA markers as a gateway to the exploration of the conflict
in meristic and mitochondrial DNA-based identifications of lionfishes. Presentation at the National
Collegiate Honors Council annual conference, St. Louis.
Johnson, D. (October, 2005). Exploration through the gateway of critical thinking. Presentation at
the National Collegiate Honors Council annual conference, St. Louis.
Bruce, K., Peters, J., Bassman, M., & Railsback, B. (October, 2005). Gateway to Effective Support of
Undergraduate Research Efforts: The UNC Undergraduate Research Consortium. Presentation at the National
Collegiate Honors Council annual conference, St. Louis.
Shine, R., Bruce, K., Ghosh, J., & Harris, A. (October, 2005). Undergraduate research and Honors.
“Developing in Honors” panel. Presentation at the National Collegiate Honors Council annual conference, St
Louis.
Bruce, K. & Myers, J. (April, 2006). All the News that’s Fit to Print? Using the New York Times
in Honors Freshman Seminar. Presentation at the Southern Regional Honors Conference, Orlando,
Florida.
Zane, N., Dassau, R., & Houston, G. (April, 2006). The new faces and challenges of Honors. Presentation at
the Southern Regional Honors Conference, Orlando, Florida.
Johnson, D. (October, 2005). Music: Cognition and creativity. Presentation at the Southern Regional
Honors Conference, Orlando, Florida.
Publication
Bruce, K. (2005). Travels with Charley… and Mike and Becky and Nina and Melissa and Tauheed and
Johanna and Matt and John. pp. 34-35 (In Smart Choices: Peterson’s Guide to Honors Programs and Colleges,
4th edition (J. Digby, Ed.). Lawrenceville, NJ: Thomson. (short invited introductory chapter).
Honors 27
7. Representative List of Honors Student Awards, Achievements, Involvement, and Recognition
Undergraduate Research Fellowships 2005-6
Carol Dwan (Psychology)
Nancy Jones (Music)
Patricia Mason (Earth Sciences)
Lacie Smith (Chemistry)
Rebecca Raine Raab (Anthropology)
Rebecca Hamner (Marine Biology)
Undergraduate Research Fellowships 2006-7
Ian Sheffer (Biology/Marine Biology)
CAA C-STARS Undergraduate Research Conference, April 2006
Shannon Cook (Chemistry)
Rebecca Hamner (Marine Biology)
Gailyn McClung (History)
Kristin McReynolds (Chemistry)
Kathryn Roege (Chemistry)
Jay Sanguinetti (Psychology)
Rebecca Raab (Anthropology)
Matt Sayball (Philosophy)
Nick Yaroch (Chemistry)
Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society Inductees
Nicole Andrade
Jennine Brazell
Elizabeth Brown
Kristie Butrico
Ashley Cedzo
Colleen Connelly
Katherine Glacken
Donnay Hall
Katherine Hart
Hannah Kimel
Marian Landon
Akshay Menon
Cornerstone Awards:
Leadership Excellence:
Erin Albee
Russell Bienias
Scott Busiel
Betsy Cline
Rebecca Dassau
Brian DesRoches
Wesley Dinsick
Emily Freitag
Blaine Henderson
Tara Moran
Shannon Page
Bret Patterson
Brittany Pope
Matthew Reece
Holli Reeves
Vivienne Seed
Rachael Shearouse
Sarah Sheffield
Claire Vaiden
Steven Welc
Candice Wyand
Gerri Houston
Matthew Lettrich
Akshay Menon
Kelli Mercurio
Tyler Millard
Ashley Molnar
Sarah Underwood
Zane Whitner
Bartholomew Wilson
Distinguished Service:
Devin Rosenthal
Senior Medallion:
Matthew Collogan
Nina Conrad
Megan Ennes
Rachel Hamm
Rebecca Hamner
Joseph Humphrey
Hannah Kimel
Gennifer Miller
Devin Rosenthal
Matthew Weissenbach
Honors 28
Sara Wright
Nicole Zane
Bryan Leadership Award Finalist: Hannah Kimel
Margaret Walthour Lippitt Scholarship Finalists: Betsy Cline, Brian DesRoches
Honors Students/Varsity Athletes (2005-2006)
BIENIAS, RUSSELL DAVID
Dixon, Devin Sheldon
EDMONDSON, NAOMI ELIZABETH
JOHNSON, JOHN SETH
MCCLURE, KATIE MARIE
MILSTEAD, MELISSA JANE
PATTERSON, BRET THOMAS
PEACOCK, ADRIENNE CLAIRE
ROBINSON, ANDREA MAUREEN
Wang, Angie Bennie
YORK, CHRISTINE CARR
Men’s Soccer
Men’s Cross Country
Women’s Track and Field
Men’s Tennis
Women’s Swimming
Women’s Swimming
Men’s Soccer
Women’s Swimming
Women’s Swimming
Women’s Swimming
Women’s Soccer
UNCW Seahawk Editorial Board (2005-2006)
Managing Editor, Liana Pesci
Student Government Association:
Gennifer Miller, Technology VP and Elected Senior Class Representative 2005-6
Russell Bienias, Arts and Sciences Representative 2005-6
Nate Humphrey, At-large Representative for 2005-6
Erin Albee, Freshman Representative and VP of State and National Affairs, 2005-6
Carli Heath, Elected sophomore Representative, 2006-7
Brian Desroches, Elected At-Large Representative, 2006-7
Bethany Sullivan, Elected At-Large Representative, 2006-7
Senior Sankofa Recognition
Shannon Smith
Tauheed El-Amin
Gary Yatharthanathan
Donnetta Warren
Tauheed El-Amin
Orientation Leaders Summer 2006:
Peyton Jeter, Shelley Shrader, Betsy Cline
Representative Internship Experiences:
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Center for Marine Science: Becky Hamner
National Institutes of Mental Health: Devin Rosenthal, Summer 2005, National Institute on
Aging in the Lab of Immunology, melanoma cancer research
Honors 29
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Internship at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Kelly Robertson
New Hanover Public County Library: Aaron Voyles
Cape Fear Accounting, Inc. in Wilmington: Gerri Houston
Durham Parks and Recreation - Special Populations/Inclusion and Mature Adults division:
Whitney Norris
Writing for the Brick Bulletin: Kelly Mercurio
Congressman McIntyre's office: Lauren Mccullough
GE Nuclear: Amy Curley
Cape Fear Biofuels Cooperative: Sarah Underwood
Teen Enterprise: Julia Puckett
UNCW faculty film "Kate Loves Spiffy”- Beckie Mohs
Public Defender’s office: Eve Smith
New Hanover's ICU: Sarah Crohn
San Diego Zoo: Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Species: Erin Siltamaki
UNCW Ambassadors (2005-2006)
Wesley Dinsick
Kristen Lesniak
Carli Heath
Matt Beyersdorff,
Jenny Craig
Betsy Cline
Kristin Anderson
Matt Lettrich (Alumni Relations)
Amy Curley (Secretary)
UNCW Visitation Day Honors Volunteers:
Mallory Gleason
Leah Hatem
Tom Tascone
Becky Dassau
Nicki Zane
Evan Watson
Blaine Henderson
Honors Students Participating in Study Abroad (2005-2006)
Host Institution
AmeriSpan - Spain
Belize
Belize
Germany - Lang.
Germany - Lang.
South Africa
USFQ
Chile
FIPSE - Brazil
James Cook
Newcastle
Roehampton
USFQ
Aff. API - Spain
Full Name
Wilfong, Kristen M.
Guarino, Katherine J.
Rabb, Rebecca R.
Lamborne, Caitlin H.
Vinsonhaler, Rebecca K.
Byrd, Bridget D.
Garner, Katelynn E.
Burke, Matthew R.
Pohlen, Jessica H.
Glasser, Victoria A.
Racine, Jonathan D.
Guarino, Katherine J.
Beerbower, Maya G.
Weiland, Kelly L.
Program Dates
Summer 2005
Summer 2005
Summer 2005
Summer 2005
Summer 2005
Summer 2005
Summer 2005
Fall 2005
Fall 2005
Fall 2005
Fall 2005
Fall 2005
Fall 2005
Spring 2006
Honors 30
Host Institution
Aff. ISA - Spain
Aff. ISA -Spain
Keele
Roehampton
Stirling
Swansea
Swansea
Swansea
Swansea
Swansea
Swansea
UNCC Spain
Full Name
Magellan, Peter B.
Rust, Henry H.
Guze, Theophania C.
Guarino, Katherine J.
Ansley, Bonnie E.
Breeggemann, Kathleen C.
Bristol, Steffanie J.
Graves, Rachel K.
Kelly, Carolyn M.
Kraft, Sierra M.
Lee, Chelsea E.
Barrett, Lauren A.
Program Dates
Spring 2006
Spring 2006
Spring 2006
Spring 2006
Spring 2006
Spring 2006 (No. Dakota State U.)
Spring 2006 (Clemson)
Spring 2006
Spring 2006 (Kent State University)
Spring 2006 (U. of No. Dakota)
Spring 2006 (Columbia College)
UNCW
UNCW Clubs/Leadership Roles (examples)
Honors Scholars Association: Pres: Nicole Zane; VP: Becky Dassau; Secretary: Whitney Shearin;
Treas: Gerri Houston; Web: Ralph Harris
NC Teaching Fellows: Heather Creech, Noah Furr, Catherine Caldwell, Andrea Blair, Sarah Payne,
Ashley Knowles, Corbin Clay, Katherine Walsh, Jennifer Lancaster
Resident Hall Association, President: Hannah Kimel
Seahawk Links: Zane Whitner, Lauren Cribbs, Matthew Weissenbach
Phi Sigma Pi : Gerri Houston, Treasurer and Fundraising Chair; Sarah Underwood, Parliamentarian
Delta Chi Fraternity Founding Father/President: Wesley Densick
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, President: Rachel Hamm
Tri Beta Biological Honors Society, Treasurer: Kristin Morrison
UNCW Advertising Chapter, President: Corey Woodard
Alpha Xi Delta Women's Fraternity, Financial Vice President and Songleader: Corey Woodard
Environmental Concerns Organization, President: Sarah Underwood
Alpha Delta Pi Sorority, Guard, Property Manager, Executive Vice President, Webmaster: Nicole
Bitonti
Association for Nursing Students, Public Relations Chair: Nicole Bitonti
Delta Zeta Sorority, Judicial Board, Senior Representative, Publicity Chair: Terri McQueen
Phi Eta Sigma: Amy Curley, President; Blair Young, Vice President; Michelle Saraceni, Senior
Advisor; Marian Landon, Secretary-Elect
Frog and Toad performance: Erin Albee, Brendon Murphy, Mallory Gleason
Awards, Scholarships, Departmental Honorary Societies (examples)
Fulbright Award: Rebecca Hamner, studying genetic diversity of dolphins in New Zealand
North Carolina Academy of Sciences:
Yarbrough Research Grant: Rebecca Hamner
Derieux Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research (1st Place Zoology): Rebecca Hamner
Council on Undergraduate Research Posters on the Hill in Washington DC poster presentation: Sara
Crohn
British Council’s Student Ambassador: Ian Sheffler
Susquehanna Review poem publication: Erika Dajevskis
Winner of the Richard R. Deas Concerto Competition: Nancy Jones
Finalist in the Randall Library flash fiction contest: Erika Dajevskis, Aaron Voyles
Wilmington Gender of Art competition, winner in fiction category: Aaron Voyles
Honors 31
Sigma Theta Tau Research Day poster presentations: Sara Crohn, Nicole Bitonti, Wendy Schrock,
Megan Anderson, Katie Garner, Susan Jordan
J. Marshall Crews Scholarship: Danelle Lekan
Jay Hensley Scholarship: Rebecca Hamner
Robert C. Byrd Scholarship: Kristin Riddle, Heather Creech
Board of Visitors Scholarship: Charles Pagels, Jordan Bramble, Brendon Murphy, Lionel Willis
Bagley Scholarship: Gloria Spillers
Horne Scholarship: John Johnson
St. Andrews Scholarship: Kristin Riddle
Greek Woman of the Year: Nicole Bitonti
George H. Chadwick Jr. Memorial Scholarship: Erin Albee
Soaring Seahawk Award: Erin Albee
ACE: Contemporary Culture Committee Member of the Year: Erin Albee
William F. Adcock, Jr. Scholarship Award: Nancy Jones
Pi Mu Epsilon: Monica Lassiter
Martha M. Duncan Leadership Scholarship: Lauren Mccullough
Wentworth Scholarship: J. Meredith Privott
Phi Alpha Theta: Evan Watson
UNCW Alumni Association Scholarship: Heather Creech
Wake Electric Scholarship: Heather Creech
Elk's Foundation Scholarship: Heather Creech
National Residence Hall Honorary: Leah Hatem
Phi Eta Sigma Honors Society Scholarship: Amy Curley
Order of Omega Honor Fraternity: Nicole Bitonti
Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honor Fraternity: Nicole Bitonti, Megan Anderson, Susan Jordan
Hilda W. Frederick's Nursing Scholarship: Megan Anderson
Delta Zeta Academic Award: Terri McQueen
Beta Alpha Psi Accounting Honor Fraternity
Therapeutic Recreation student speaker at departmental graduation: Whitney Norris
Criminal Justice Academic Excellence Award: Rachel Hamm
Cape Fear Psychological Association Applied Research Award: Bridget Byrd
Beta Gamma Sigma National Business Honorary: Gerri Houston
Resident Assistant of the Year: Hannah Kimel
Community Developer of the Year Award: Hannah Kimel
Community Service Program of the Year Award: Hannah Kimel
Resident Assistant Hall of Fame Inductee: Hannah Kimel
UNCW/Community Service examples:
Head cheerleading coach at NC School of Science & Math in Durham: Whitney Norris
Surfrider Foundation: Wes Dinsick, Danelle Lekan (Secretary)
Woodlot Project: Rebecca Hamner
Wilmington Special Olympics: Wesley Dinsick
Azalea Festival Campus Triathlon volunteer: Wesley Dinsick
UNCW Landscaping: Wesley Dinsick
Hands on Wilmington Volunteer: Rebecca Dassau
Habitat for Humanity: Heather Creech
Middle School Tutor: Heather Creech
ESL Conversation Partner: Heather Creech
Martin Luther King Center volunteer: Bret Patterson
Cystic Fibrosis volunteer: Nicole Bitonti
Parsley Elementary for Fall and Spring Festivals: Nicole Bitonti
March of Dimes: Nicole Bitonti
Hands on Wilmington: Rebecca Dassau
Relay for Life: Nicole Bitonti
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Tsunami Relief Concert Committee, Chair: Hannah Kimel
Animal Control: Charles Pagels
CSURF Awards- attached
Honors 33
8. Attachments
Reports:
Fact Sheet: 1998-2006
Review of Goals
List of Students Participating in Departmental Honors
CSURF Travel Award List
Honors Application Kit
Honors Brochure
Student Handbook for 2005-2006
Honors Faculty Booklet for 2005-2006
Honors Schedule Books (Fall 2005, Spring 2006 and Fall 2006)
Honors Course Evaluation Forms
Departmental Honors Brochure
Departmental Honors Booklet
Albert Schweitzer Honors Scholar Brochure
Center for the Support of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships (CSURF) Brochure
Programs for:
Honors Welcome Reception
Honors Holiday Reception
Honors Graduation Brunch and Awards Ceremony
Showcase of Undergraduate Research